2024-05-07 A Meditation on a Spirit Who Seeks

“8 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.” (Acts 8:1-8 ESV)

The Spirit who searches all things (1 Cor 2:10), this Spirit locks us in even as the entire world around us shifts, and even as we wonder, sometimes almost panicky, where and how are we to relate to this new world? To this post-mountains-falling-on-us, to the post-birth-pains, to the efficiency of a God who makes poetry of each person’s judgment, yet what poetry we may doubt and be frightful around: will it not rather be Lucifer who proves the fool in each of us? The fool who did not accumulate the world’s goods? The fool who did not ask for a receipt for services rendered? The fool who, let’s face it, stared down a bit of implied error, rather, didn’t stare down but surrendered: yes, I too appreciate the slow work of reviewing past situations, errors, experiences. Thank you, higher task-master, for the reminder…

In any event, Christians everywhere are called to know the Power of their Testimony. That power does indeed shift the public consciousness, or make concrete spiritual reality around the saint, into a new world order, a new dispensation, a “Hold on, we were just getting comfy in our new digs” shock. Wars unfought. Entire legions of preparation unutilized. But then the end of the manicky or panicky crushed spirit of Man, and the Hope to launch forth into the New Era holistic, whole and certain.

The hope to launch forth into a world in fact tailor-made for us, who today recollect. Already, tomorrow’s V-day is experienced in an instance, by way of encouraging the saints. Already, the fruits of patience bear their patient work, on a tomorrow post-climax, for those sainted into the mixture. Post shock, and post satiety, post completion and post fulfillment. We are soldiers of a rarer breed, militants of a gladsome and more sure footing, because we still have Us. We still have the Fellowship. We still have the Goal of life in community, gladsome exchange with brother or sister in the Lord, roaming and setting up sign, whether implicitly in friendly gang, or solo walking in mind of the invisible presences all around. We are implicitly Complete and Accompanied, nevermind the blanching or hateful assertion: “He/She has no friends!” Jesus only had twelve. I mean, are we to start making lists? And the Spirit searches all things, keeping us from vain boredom or malaise. To the Doctrine, nevermind the purgatory, nevermind the discipline, nevermind the illusions, nevermind the implied error. Stare in the face of the one implying we aren’t quite good enough. Stare in the face of the one implying we don’t yet “get it”. Stare all things in the face, if by that we mean a Christ-seeking heavenward glance, like Stephen’s who was martyred for the Cause. Who then, after all, is most faithful, unbroken chain, to the actual Christ of Scripture, the Man and Prophet who graced the world with, whose presence in, made believers of all from the centurion to the woman of seven demons. Who called and had them follow. Who finally loved on us who needed a shoulder to cry on.

Some have words flow from their lips mellifluous, melodic. Who can use pet names in the most sincere yet freely-given sense. To whom all are the ace of the show, the man or woman of the situation, the star of the scene. Who see all life through a world of characters others blindly pass by on the street: see, the underbelly of society. See, the undertow of actual people who Matter. See, the “just getting by” of the friendly commune. See, that we too discover: the world, after all, hasn’t all changed; we still have each other; we still have the courtesy to carry on. We still, knowing those for whom death was some implied reality, have lived nonetheless into Tomorrow, and are still with us who love them. Life is stark; sin is tangible; our jokes about our own sins are used violently to sue us, at times. The humor is lost. The irony is misbegotten. The time is ill-spent trying to move mountains, to give spiritual patience to the bullheaded. Why? Why, Lord, these people? Why the ones so familiar with the inside of the church building but so unfamiliar with the unaccusing glance? And too those who have gone farther than us, who love because Christ mandated Love.